Sometimes you make a mistake and you just have to suck it up and soldier through it. If I was to put a chapter title to the first 3 months of Leisure Freak Tommy’s book of 2015. I would title it Sadness, Frustration and Budget Hits. How my big mistake saved my financial keister.

My Big Mistake

If you have read some of my earlier posts you may recall I took on a little early retirement side hustle last October. It was funded for a sweet two and half month gig that went to the end of year. It was the best gig I have ever had. When they asked if I would consider accepting an extension I laid down my boundaries by being rationally unreasonable. They accepted my conditions and made me an offer to stay into this year until mid-May. Of which I accepted.

It all started wonderfully but slowly as the weeks went by the corporate behemoth I am consulting for started pushing past the agreed upon boundaries. Pushed to the point where now they don’t recall anything about said boundaries.

My big mistake is I allowed them to do this and I didn’t just say that it is time for me to move on.

I get it. They have business needs and after losing some staff the work needs to still be done. I am just a softy and decided to be nice instead of being right. It isn’t the end of the world but it does add some frustration. That’s because I prefer to spend my time doing the things I am interested in doing. Not the boring meaningless stuff of everyday production problems.

It makes me feel a bit of a fraud because for me it’s all about being passionate about what I am doing. I am not to the point where I hear that little voice saying there is more to life than this. But I do think that if I didn’t know I was returning to retirement soon that voice may just be singing to me now.

That said I am honoring my end of the deal until mid-May. I do take solace in knowing that I held up my end of the bargain and maybe that is my passion connection. Living honestly with integrity.

I am looking forward to returning to early retirement in a few weeks. I am being well paid which is what has saved my financial keister. For the most part this early retirement side hustle has been very rewarding.

How My Big Mistake Saved My Financial Keister – My Three Pay-Offs

Mistake Pay Off #1-

I had posted about recovering from the blown budget blues in January where I explained how our long time beloved pet, our fury family member was diagnosed with terminal heart disease. I am sorry to announce that he passed away a couple of weeks ago. From his first symptoms through all the tests and medications we did spend $2800. We spent that to make his last months as comfortable as possible. The money from the side hustle certainly spared taking this money from my emergency fund.

Mistake Pay Off #2-

My mother could no longer climb the stairs from her basement apartment at my sister’s home. She was basically trapped because she would restrict climbing the stairs due to pain and the length of time to get through the ordeal.

After speaking with my sister the logical decision was to find one of those stairway chair-elevators. My sister hasn’t the money. Even though Medicare will help pay for a Jazzy-Chair to zip around the neighborhood. They do not pay for a way to get up and down stairs in your old age.

So as I am on this side hustle I happily purchased said chair elevator system for $4900. Once again the money from the side hustle certainly spared taking this money from my emergency fund. Because even if I wasn’t still working this side hustle I would have done this anyway. I love my mom.

Mistake Pay Off #3-

Last week totally out of the blue my father-in-law passed away. As the family is trying to recover from the shock we will be traveling out-of-state to the funeral. We will also be pitching in money for the wake and obituary.

As this trip is coming in the next couple of days I don’t know the total we will be spending. But the money from the side hustle certainly spared taking this money from my emergency fund. Or at the very least from our travel and vacation fund for this year. It sucks to deal with a death in the family at a personal level. But I feel badly for anyone who has to also suffer through financial pressure too.

In Closing.

Things happen in life that you can’t budget for. Having an emergency fund is very important. I have also been thinking a lot about how my early retirement side hustle was extended. How it has turned out with me sticking to my end of the bargain by staying on even though they broke my rules for being there.

I certainly could have walked off the job anytime I wanted to. I can’t help but think about the old saying that things happen for a reason. With all that has happened through March I hope that my life quiets down, my contract comes to a quiet but exciting (for me) end, and I return to my early retirement life living totally on my terms.

Have you ever had a run of bad financial hits within a short time period?

Have you had a business deal go sideways but you still held up your end?